FlightAware moves headquarters higher into the sky

Tracking company adding space in move to a higher perch in Greenway Plaza

Daniel Baker is founder and CEO ofÂ FlightAware, a global flight tracking data company based in Houston.

FlightAware, a global flight tracking data company, will double the size of its headquarters and gain a modern space with panoramic views of Houston when it relocates to a full floor near the top of Eleven Greenway Plaza in November.

The privately held company has leased all 24,500 square feet on the 29th floor. The new office, designed by Gensler, will have open work areas and a glass-walled area showcasing the FlightFeeder factory, where small orange devices that connect with antennas to pick up airplane signals for about 250 miles, will be assembled, tested and packaged.

The FlightFeeders are located at 12,000 ground stations in 155 countries.

"All of these ground stations are picking up signals from around the world and transmitting them to us," said Daniel Baker, founder and CEO of FlightAware. "For visitors, it will be a concrete understanding of what we do."

FlightAware recently partnered with Aireon on similar flight tracking on satellites from space that will expand coverage over the ocean.

The company started in 2005, providing free flight tracking services for private and commercial air traffic. Baker came up with the technology, after contacting the Federal Aviation Administration, to create a way for his friends and family to know where he was flying and when he would land so they could pick him up at the airport.

The company now offers analytical tools, real-time data, historical reports and data analysis to help small plane operators and commercial airlines with things such as optimizing flight plans and fuel efficiency.

"We've got 10,000 customers ranging from a company that owns a single jet to United Airlines and everybody in between, all over the world," Baker said.

Flight-Aware occupies 12,000 square feet and employs about 60 people at Eight Greenway Plaza. The new office will enable the company to expand to 120 employees by 2020, Baker said. The company has 71 employees, including other offices in New York and Singapore.

Bringing in as much light as possible was key in the new design, and no employee will be more than two desks away from a window, Baker said. A kitchen situated along the windows, with seating for 40, will offer a landing spot for daily lunches brought in after employees vote on restaurants using the company's LunchAware program.

"The food just shows up, with everybody together in this huge kitchen," Baker said.

Senterra Real Estate Group will manage the construction, which is being done by Endurance Builders.

The office was the highest available space in the Greenway Plaza area, Tofsky said. It's one of three 31-story buildings in Greenway Plaza and rises much higher than recently constructed buildings along Richmond.

"Getting a high view worked in their overall business plan," Neil Tofsky said. "It's pretty panoramic when you get this high up."